Corn, soybean harvests getting off to slow start

Wednesday

Sep 24, 2008 at 12:01 AMSep 24, 2008 at 7:10 PM

The first week of fall is the first week of harvest for a handful of area farmers, but most continue to watch and wait. A few combines began to roll into Sangamon County cornfields this week, but farmers and crop experts alike said Tuesday the bulk of the harvest is a couple of weeks away and likely will continue into late October.

Tim Landis

The first week of fall is the first week of harvest for a handful of area farmers, but most continue to watch and wait.

A few combines began to roll into Sangamon County cornfields this week, but farmers and crop experts alike said Tuesday the bulk of the harvest is a couple of weeks away and likely will continue into late October.

“Corn went into the ground a month to a month-and-a-half behind schedule. The harvest is probably not going to be delayed that much, but everything is behind,” said Robert Bellm, a University of Illinois crop specialist based in Edwardsville.

A weekly report of the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates less than 1 percent of the state’s corn and soybean crop has been harvested compared to 40 percent for corn and 17 percent for soybeans this time last year.

Cool, wet weather early in the month also has kept farmers out of the field.

“Basically, I’m just waiting for things to dry. It was just late planting all the way around,” said Auburn-area grain farmer David Ray, adding that it probably would be two weeks before he can make a serious dent in his corn and soybean crops. Ray said he was aware of some neighbors who had begun harvest and have even started taking grain to elevators.

Despite the wet spring and late planting, government forecasts are for corn and soybean crops that are not off that much from last year’s record harvest. But drying conditions vary widely from county to county, said a local USDA specialist.

“It’s just amazing to see the fields this year. You find some fields with just a slight bit of green, and others that basically are still all green,” said Mike Clark, estimates group director for the USDA Illinois Field Office in Springfield.

Percentage of moisture content — specifically 15 percent — is now the key figure for the corn harvest, Bellm said.

“It’s the point where the elevators don’t dock you for extra moisture,” Bellm said. “If the elevator has to dry it, they’ll add drying charges.”

Tim Seifert, who also farms near Auburn, estimated much of his crop remains in the 26 percent to 34 percent moisture range.

“We’re anxious to get started. It’s like Christmas for farmers, we waited all year long for this,” Seifert said.